Cheri Kurtz, a registered dental hygienist with Kalamazoo County’s dental clinic, used an instrument to carefully prod his teeth and gums as X-rays taken a few moments before were being developed.

The results of the examination, performed in the clinic’s mobile dental care bus, confirmed Webster’s fear.

“Looks like I need a bunch of fillings,” the 40-year old said.

Clinic staff told Webster to head to the county’s dental clinic on Gull Road to have the fillings put in, which his Medicaid insurance will cover.

“It really helped that this was here,” he said. “I needed the help.”

Webster was among nearly 500 people who by 3 p.m. Wednesday had come to the Kalamazoo County Expo Center & Fairground for Project Connect, a one-day event of free services geared toward the area’s homeless and in-need populations. Event organizers expected 1,000 people to come through the doors by the end of the day, about the same number that came to the first Project Connect in May.

“We keep seeing a need and people are telling us that it’s important to have all these services in one place,” said Michelle Schneider, assistant program officer for the Kalamazoo office of the Local Initiatives Support Corp., which along with the Poverty Reduction Initiative organized the event. “This has become so cool.”

View full sizeErik Holladay | Special to the Kalamazoo GazetteMarquarain Jones, 3, gets his hair cut during the Project Connect held Wednesday at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center & Fairground.

Besides the mobile dental clinic, 50 other services were offered. They ranged from blood sugar and blood pressure screenings to home foreclosure assistance to help with interviewing and resume writing.

Free haircuts were among the most popular services offered.

The idea behind the event was to provide those in need with a one-stop opportunity to receive services they would usually have trouble accessing, never know about or simply be unable to afford.

Anyone in need was welcome and, due to the demand, Project Connect will take place twice a year from now on, with events in May and November of 2011, Schneider said.

More than 300 volunteers helped out Wednesday, handing out literature, giving a supportive hug or just listening as people told their stories of struggle.

At the Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes booth, volunteers handed out plastic bags full of fruit, vegetables and snacks, as well as information about food assistance programs.

The need for food assistance in the community is substantial — and growing. In 2009, the non-profit food assistance agency helped about 77,000 people. This year, it expects to help more than 80,000 people, said Jennifer Johnson, public relations director for Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes.

Donations “are down a little this year,” Johnson said, adding that when a person on unemployment has their benefits run out, the need for food assistance will only grow higher.

“We expect a huge increase when that happens,” she said. “But people are being helped here today.”